By United Soybean Board
Precision irrigation improves efficiency and sustainability
It takes a lot of water to grow soybeans. So while more than 90 percent of U.S. farm land is non-irrigated, for some farmers, sparse rainfall is supplemented by irrigation.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, roughly 56 million acres, about 7.6 percent of all U.S. cropland and pastureland, were irrigated in 2012. Technology is helping farmers water those acres efficiently.
Several types of irrigation are used in the U.S., including furrow, drip irrigation and spray irrigation.
“Technology is helping producers apply the right amount of water to get the best yields.” – Brent Mecham, industry development director for the Irrigation Association
Commonly used in the Mississippi Delta area, furrow-irrigation systems pump water to the highest elevation in a field and allow it to flow downhill along each row. Drip irrigation, common in fruit and vegetable production, involves running plastic pipes with small holes alongside the crops.
Most common among large-scale crop production is spray irrigation, often with center-pivot systems.
Colin Nachtigal relies on irrigation for his crops. Nachtigal farms in central South Dakota, a relatively dry area that U.S. Climate Data says receives about 18.5 inches of rainfall each year. By comparison, Central Iowa receives nearly twice that amount.
Technology innovations in irrigation
Nachtigal says his family started irrigating in 1977. Nearly all of their 2,700 irrigated acres are watered using center-pivot systems. After nearly four decades of irrigating, he says they’ve adapted their approach, which includes making use of technology to improve efficiency and conserve water resources.
“Sprinkler packages are better,” says Nachtigal of how technology has improved. “We’re able to use lower pressure, which requires less energy, and better drop nozzles mean we have less evaporation loss.”
“When farmers use all the tools available to them, they become even better stewards of resources.” – Brent Mecham, industry development director for the Irrigation Association
Nachtigal has been using variable-rate irrigation for about five years. To help determine how much water is needed on various areas of his land, he divides his fields based on soil type. He uses a monitor on some of his pivots that allows him to set up coordinates, and automatically start and stop the system.
“Technology is helping producers apply the right amount of water to get the best yields,” says Brent Mecham, industry development director for the Irrigation Association, the industry’s trade group. “It’s helping farmers make better decisions.”
Mecham says some developments have come in the form of improved mechanical systems, like nozzles, which allow for more uniform application. But it is innovations in monitoring and controlling irrigation that have perhaps the biggest impact.
Controls allow spray irrigators to be better managed by changing speeds or adjusting the amount of water that needs to be applied based on soil profile or type of crop.
Mecham says the use of more sensors gives farmers better control.
“Sensors send reports back on things like nutrients and plant stress, which gives growers the opportunity to respond,” says Mecham.
Irrigation technology for sustainability
As with other areas of agriculture, irrigation technology is gaining wider acceptance for its ability to help manage resources.
Mecham expects that farmers who irrigate will be able to access real-time data from weather stations to help them make good decisions and highlight their sustainability. They can save energy by keeping pumps turned off when they’re not needed. And by not over-watering, they reduce nutrient runoff.
“When farmers use all the tools available to them, they become even better stewards of resources,” says Mecham.
“Sprinkler packages are better. We’re able to use lower pressure, which requires less energy, and better drop nozzles mean we have less evaporation loss.” – Colin Nachtigal, South Dakota farmer
Nachtigal says he recently began using probes in his soybean fields. In 2015 he found soybean roots as deep as 36 inches pulling water. Knowing that, he was able to manage his water resources accordingly and achieve his best-ever soybean yields.
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